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Prison Reformation

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EATING IS A NECESSITY. BUT COOKING IS AN ART. CHEF JIKU

AFFECTED BY THE COST OF CONFLICT IN PRISON..

RICHARD PRINCE AMBASSADOR, BRĀV ONLINE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT begin to experience financial relief A Not every conflict creates

insome of these areas. Over time, they

costs in these areas but all of

will be able to see an increasedrelief

these areas doincur costs due

in the financial burden that conflict

to conflict. It is my belief that

imposes on all of these areas.“If you

when Conflict Managementis

don’t know the true cost of conflict,

fully implemented as both a

then it is hard to determinewhat

preventative and reactionary

exactly is the cause of conflict.” -

program, prisonfacilities will

Ambassador Richard PrinceExtra time

almost immediately

due to loss of good time-

When conflicts escalate to the point of staff intervention, they usually result in a writeup and, often, loss of “good time�. As a result, the offenders are held back in their progression through the system. If it costs, on average, $100/day to house an inmate and they lose 30 days of good time for a write-up, then that equals $3,000 per offender, per write-up for a conflict. If the conflict is resolved with no loss of goodtime, then those are dollars freed up for other needs. Man hours for hearing officers to oversee these write-ups-Most facilities require their officers to perform multiple tasks. The hearing officer is usually one of those individuals responsible to do more than just hold hearings for writeups. When conflicts are resolved among offenders before they

escalate into requiring staff involvement, the write-ups are eliminated altogether, thereby freeing up the hearing officers to perform their other tasks. A lighter case load speaks to a more efficiently run facility, which saves money.Man hours spent filing reports-See above paragraph.Medicine and medical treatment-When conflicts result in fights and assaults, they often require one or both offenders, or staff, to visit the infirmary to be treated. This requires medical staff to set aside what they are doing in order to treat the wounded and sometimes results in the issuing of medication at the expense of the facility. Again, with the implementation of prevent at ive conflict management programs, some of these incidents can be peacefully resolved before escalating to the point of violence.

Man hours and materials required to pack up belongings- When a conflictescalates to the degree where removal from living quarters is required,officers are required to pack up the belongings of those individuals.

This requires some materials and more man hours from staff who have other responsibilities.Reclassifying offenders-When conflict results in write-ups, offenders usually receive more points on their file. For some, this results in a change in classification. These changes could result in transportation costs even if the nature of the conflict itself does not require it.

Reclassification can also result in aneed to revisit other treatment programs. The more offenders that requirethese services, the higher the cost for the facility.

Transportation of offendersSometimes conflict will require that offenders be transported to other facilities. The cost of transporting offenders is not cheap and having to make repeated transports as a result of conflict can become very expensive,very quickly. If conflicts can be resolved through prevention based programming and reactionary methods, then the amount of transports required to maintain facility safety can be greatly reduced. Those funds can then be focused in more needed areas.

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SAVOR / JUNE 2018

A Man hours spent re-housing transported inmates-When inmates are transported to other facilities, there are numerous man hours required to ensure they are not placed with offenders with whom they have had previous conflicts. If conflicts can be resolved, it will greatly cut down on the time required to make these decisions.Segregation- Some conflicts require segregation to maintain order and safety in the facility. This requires bed space in segregation that could be saved for other issues.

Preventative conflict resolution will help to reduce the number of offenders that require segregation because of conflict.. Disruption to facility that affects safety- Any conflict brings a disruption to the facility.

When conflict progresses to serious staff intervention, it requires a series of actions from multiple staff in the facility that puts many in potentially dangerous situations.

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Staff are pulled away from their duties and, in some cases, lock downs are required.Tension escalates, sometimes drastically, and these situations create opportunities for some offenders to attempt to take advantage of the disruption. Lessening these incidents is beneficial in ways that extend beyond dollars spent.Mental Instabilities-The inability of offenders to deal with conflict in healthy ways in grains mindsets and attitudes that are not beneficial to functioning properly in society. When conflicts are not resolved, it only strengthens these issues.As a result, the offenders continue to have dysfunctional relationships both in and out of prison. This can result in further complications while in the system that extend beyond conflicts. This can also result in a higher risk of recidivism. By teaching conflict management skills and Choice Theory, offenders can learn to be more accountable for their actions and become better equipped to develop healthy relationships. As a result,they will not only become advocates for resolving conflicts but they will have a greater chance for success once released from prison.

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There are more areas affected by conflict that are not listed above. Some of those areas are staff related. Safety was mentioned but taking it further, we know that when conflicts arise between staff members, it creates an unpleasant work environment. Conflict among staff often drives a wedge between co-workers, which in turn impacts their ability to function properly as a team. Conflict can also result in staff resignations one terminations. This, in turn, causes a higher turnover rate and requires DOC to spend more money in training and recruiting costs in order to keep positions filled. Effectively dealing with and resolving conflict among staff is key for morale and retention of staff. In closing, there are many options for programs that can not only save facilities much needed finances, but also create safer and more enjoyable work environments. Brāv’s partnership with the DOC is an effort to determine accurate numbers associated with the cost of conflict in DOC facilities, implement targeted programs that will affect those costs, and create data capturing formats that will track the success of theseprograms.

By doing this, DOC will have solid numbers and data that can be used to prove the effectiveness of conflict resolution.

Brāv will also use this data in sharing with other DOC systems across the nation and other countries in order to implement similar programs. As a result Brāv, and DOC will be taking an important step to make our world a safer one.

FINDING THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS

FEATURES

5 Easy Ways to Cook Your Eggs Cooking or cookery is the art, technology and craft of preparing food for consumption with the use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions and trends.

The ways or types of cooking also depend on the skill and type of training an individual cook has. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments.

EXCLUSIVE

CHEF LEAH

A chef is a highly trained and skilled

There are different terms that use

professional cook who is proficient in

the word chef in their titles, and

all aspects of food preparation of a

deal with specific areas of food

particular cuisine. The word "chef" is

preparation, such as the Sous-

derived (and shortened) from the

chef, who acts as the second-in-

term chef de cuisine, the director or

command in a kitchen, or the

head of a kitchen. Chefs can receive

Chef de partie, who handles a

both formal training from an

specific area of production. Other

WRITTEN BY CASSIE O. LOPEZ

institution, as well as

names include executive chef,

PHOTO BY JONAH DENWORTH

through apprenticeship with an

chef manager, head chef, and the

experienced chef.

master chef.

Chef Leah, the celebrity chef, answers the questions you have all been dying to ask.

Taina Vargas-Edmond founded Initiate Justice in September 2016 with the intention of activating the political power of people directly impacted bymass incarceration. Prior to creating Initiate Justice, she worked in the organizing and policy advocacy field as the Statewide Advocacy Coordinator with Essie Justice Group, State Campaigner with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and as a Field Representative for the California State Assembly. She is directly impacted by mass incarceration, with her husband having served seven years in CA state prison.

OUR MISSION & VISION Our mission is to end mass incarceration by activating the power of the people it directly impacts. We organize our members, both inside and outside of prisons, to advocate for their freedom and change criminal justice policy in California. We have more than 24,000 incarcerated members, 169 inside organizers, and hundreds more outside members and organizers throughout California.We are 100% led by people directly impacted by incarceration.

OUR STORY Initiate Justice was founded in late 2016 by Taina Vargas-Edmond andRichard EdmondVargas while Richard was incarcerated in state prison.

Theysaw that their peers, people in prison and loved ones outside, wereextremely motivated to lead criminal justice reform efforts, but did nothave access to accurate, timely information, or resources on how toorganize and create momentum for change.

Taina and Richard saw Proposition 57 as a great opportunity to mobilize their community to start building power. They gathered 500 signatures to help Prop 57 get on the ballot in 2018, and began growing a mailing list of people in prison they could share updates and strategies with. When Prop 57 passed, they mobilized volunteers to survey 2,000 people on their inside mailing list to develop a set of demands for how Prop 57 would actually be implemented. This campaign was the birth of Initiate Justice, our model for building our community’s power both inside and outside of prisons.

OUR STRATEGY Initiate Justice has an inside-outside strategy where we prioritize organizing people directly impacted by incarceration, inside and outside prison walls. Most of our organizing takes place in prison visiting rooms,in front of county jails, and inside prisons themselves. We also pursue social media organizing strategies that target online groups of people within incarcerated loved ones, so that they can disseminate Initiate Justice information to their loved ones inside directly.

To end mass incarceration in California and implement just reforms, we need the insights of people who have been directly impacted by the current system, who know where it fails and what they need to be safe and treated fairly. We also need an organized, powerful community who can engage with policymakers and design our own answers to the problems we face. Our work builds this kind of informed, organized community through:

• Our mailing list of 24,000 members in prison who receive news on CA. criminal justice reforms and take part in Initiate Justice campaigns.• Inside Organizers who communicate with us directly and receive monthly packets of political education, organizing strategy, and ways to mobilize their peers in support of our work.• In-person training on community organizing and the policy and legislative process for people in prison, loved ones outside, and volunteers.• Reports, surveys, videos, and events that change the narrative about people impacted by incarceration and position directly impacted people as leaders in the CA criminal justice reform movements.• Writing and passing legislation that dismantles the mass incarceration system and builds the power of people who have been impacted by it–reducing sentencing harshness, restoring voting rights, creating credit-earningopportunities, and more.

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The Beauty of Barcelona

Supreme Court to decide whether inmates have religious right to grow beards

By David Masci https://www.pewresearch.org

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Holt v.

Hobbs, a case that will test the limits of religious liberty for prison inmates.

Specifically, the court will determine whether prison officials may prohibit or limit a Muslim inmate from growing a beard, which many Muslims believe is required by their faith.Here’s an explainer about the case and why it matters:

How did the case arise?In 2009, inmate Gregory Holt (also known as Abdul Maalik Muhammad) asked state prison officials in Arkansas for permission to grow a half-inch beard. Holt and many other Muslims say they are obliged to keep beards in order to follow the example set by the Prophet Muhammad. But Arkansas denied Holt’s request, citing state regulations that prohibit prisoners from growing beards (except for medical reasons), because beards can be used to hide weapons, drugs and other prohibited items.

In spite of the denial, Holt, who is serving a life sentence for burglary and domestic assault, grew his beard and refused to shave it. He also filed a lawsuit, arguing that state officials violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, which aims to protect the religious liberty rights of inmates and others in state institutions. Since 2012, both a federal district court and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled against Holt. The courts have ruled that, notwithstanding the law’s protections, the state has demonstrated that the beard is enough of a security risk to warrant the ban. Holt then petitioned the Supreme Court, which agreed to review the decision.

What is the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and why is it important in this case?

The statute focuses on inmates and other institutionalized persons because those who are confined and controlled by the state are more likely to have conflicts between their religious beliefs and government regulation.

Under the law, if an inmate demonstrates that a regulation imposes a “substantial burden” on his or her religious practice, the inmate will be exempted from the rule unless the state can show that the regulation advances a “compelling government interest” and does so in a way that is “least restrictive” to religious liberty. In this case, for instance, if Holt shows that the prison’s ban on beards substantially burdens his ability to practice Islam, Arkansas prison officials must exempt him from the ban unless they can show that it furthers a compelling state interest and does so in a way that least restricts Holt’s religious rights.

What arguments do Arkansas prison officials make?

The state argues that it has an obvious compelling interest in enforcing its ban on beards: the maintenance of prison security.

All kinds of things, from pins to razors to drugs, can be hidden in beards.

Also, once a bearded prisoner escapes, he can dramatically alter his appearance simply by shaving, potentially making it much harder for officials to find him. In addition, state officials contend that courts should not require prison officials to provide excessive evidence or data that the policy in question promotes security. Prisons are extremely dangerous places and thus, barring obviously absurd claims by prison officials, courts should defer to prison officials on questions of whether a policy is or is not needed to maintain security.

In this case, officials say, they have determined that the ban on beards is necessary and that should be sufficient.

H Officials should not be able to meet this test by simply claiming they have such an interest and then not offering any real evidence to back up this claim. In this case, Holt says, Arkansas state prison officials have no credible evidence to back up their contention that a half-inch beard, like the one Holt has grown, poses any kind of security risk. They have not been able to produce one instance of a prisoner using a short beard to hide weapons or contraband, he argues. In addition, he points out, the federal prison system, as well as more than 40 state systems, all allow prisoners to grow beards up to a half inch in length. Given these facts, Holt contends, the state cannot claim that it has a “compelling interest” in preventing prisoners from growing short beards for religious reasons.

What arguments does Holt make? olt contends that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalize Persons Act clearly requires the state to show that the policy being challenged advances a “compelling state interest” in the least restrictive way possible.

What might be the broad significance of this case?While a plain reading of the federal law seems to support Holt’s argument that state officials must back up their claims with evidence, the legislative history of the statute indicates that its drafters recognized the need for giving deference to prison officials.

How the high court ultimately reconciles these two notions will probably determine how it decides the case. If the court sides with the state and agrees that prison officials should be given deference when questions of security arise, it will make it very difficult for other inmates to prevail in future religious liberty claims. If, however, the court decides on a more direct reading of the statute, prison officials will need to meet the statute’s tough test in order to convince judges to deny an inmate’s valid religious liberty claim.

OCTOBER 6, 2014 https://www.pewresearch.org